Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Council of the Ageing NT CEO Sue Shearer provides an update on concession cards for seniors

Transcript

Council of the Ageing NT CEO Sue Shearer provides an update on concession cards for seniors · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Last week I had a couple of people message through
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: and ask me when the senior's concession cards we're going
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: to be sent out or what the situation is with
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: those seniors concession cards. Now joining me on the line
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: to tell us a little bit more, it is Sue Shearer,
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: the CEO of Kota, the Council of the Aging here
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: in the Northern Territory. Good morning to you, Sue, Good
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: morning Katie.
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: Loved to talk to you again. Lovely to have you on.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: It is it's cold, Sue, it's been very cold this morning.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: Don't you reckon?
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: Oh coolish Australian person, This is just cool. Cold is
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: minus four so yeah, that's so.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: True, so true. Now it's been good for a bit
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: of a change. Now, Sue, tell us about the senior
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: concession cards. Where are they at? Do they come out
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: sort of at the beginning of the financial year or
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: what's the situation?
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: No, no, they don't. People should get them the end
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: of July early August. They don't come out till then.
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: But that's the anti senior's recognition tame with a debit
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: card with the five hundred dollars on it, So people
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: should be getting them round about the end of July
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: that they'll be checking that, you know, everybody's reregistered or
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: renewed their membership. They and the Green Card, which is
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: a concession card for power and other and other ones
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: that you don't get a new cards for that one.
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: But the Anti Senior's Recognition Scheme debit card, yes, you
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: get a new one every year if you have reregistered,
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: but that won't be coming out till the end of
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: July early August.
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: I reckon that that's the one though. I reckon that's
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: the one that people have been in contact with me about.
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: I think they were wondering whether it came out, sort
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: of whether it had come out already and whether they
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: missed out. But that's not the case. They're still to
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: come out end of July early August.
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: Yeah, they come, you know, they have to. There's obviously
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: quite a few of them. I think for memory, there's
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: fourteen thousand cards that have to be sent out throughout
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: the Northern Urredy and they have to make sure that
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: all the addresses. You know, you don't want the card
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: going to the wrong places. Five hundred dollars on it.
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: So yeah, absolutely forgetting them, I said, enter July, early
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: August and then they can go shopping.
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: And so what exactly can our seniors spend that money on?
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: So is it five hundred did you say.
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's five hundred dollars. We did right to the
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: previous Chief Minister and use you. As you know with
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: the CPI increase that that car that five hundred dollars
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: is not index to CPI. There hasn't been an increase
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: for three years. So we did ask for an increase
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: of one hundred and fifty dollars to help people with
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: the cost of living, but unfortunately that didn't come to fruition,
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: but we will keep trying. We believe that it should
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: be increased, as we know with people's rents and also
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: food and you know, people are really struggling, so it
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: would really help our scene as if they had some
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: extra money on that car. So yeah, so we are
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: obviously lobbying very hard for that and.
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: So so is it You can use it on travel?
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: Is that right? And what else?
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: You can use it on travel, but you can use
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: it to buy food, you can use it to buy clothes,
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: you can use.
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: It to.
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: Obviously if you've got a pet vet re builders a
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: whole lot the main actually probably is easier to say
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: the three things you can't use it on is alcohol, yep,
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: gambling products and naughty products.
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well that's fair enough. So fair enough. Now, I
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: would assume that a lot of our Northern Territory seniors
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: as well do really wait, you know, to get this.
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: I would imagine that for a lot of them, they
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: there may be expenses or different things that they've been
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: holding off on or not able to buy that this
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: has a real impact for Oh.
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: It would like if they needed a new fridge or
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: a new oven, or they need to repair their car,
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: all sorts of things. When you're on a low income,
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: it's very difficult. And as I said, I've watched people,
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: you know, shopping and you know, I know, even my
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: shopping has gone up like thirty forty dollars. I mean,
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: it's just really difficult to make end to meet at
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: the moment, and especially for seniors in the private rental
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: market with that going up as well, and they're on
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: a low income. You know, a lot of people are
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: really close to the poverty line. So that's why we
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: really wanted an extra minimum one hundred and fifty on
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: that car. But you know, the battle has just begun, Katie.
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: We will continue the battle to get that money on
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: the car.
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: Well and do let us know whether there is going
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: to be an increase in line with CPI when it
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: comes to that. You know that five hundred dollars for
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: five hundred dollars for the car, I'd be very interested
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: to hear. So. I understand as well that in the
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: territory we've had a bit of a growth in population
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: with our seniors. Is that correct?
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: We sure have. We've had the since we've been delivering
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: the Seniors car, I have had the hotnest influx of
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: seniors relocate to the Northern tertary. How we do this
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: they apply when they move to the Northern Church, they
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: apply for their Anti Senior's card if they're over sixty.
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: And we've had four hundred and eighteen people move to
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: the Northern churchy seniors Mainly they've moved to Darwin and Palmerston,
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: about twenty three to Alice Springs, about seven or eight
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: to Catherine and some to Nolumbos, some to hog ib
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: So And the average age is sixty to sixty five.
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: And they've come from far afield of Scotland, the Philippines
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: and New Zealand. So we are attracting more seniors, which
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: is wonderful because as we know, they don't just contribute economically,
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: but they also contribute very much to the community and
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: the social fabric and volunteering. And I think a lot
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: of them, the oldest ones that have had over eighty
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: they've come here to be closer to their children and
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: grand children, which again is wonderful thing.
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: It really is. Now to anybody out there listening this
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: morning who might be wondering whether they are indeed eligible
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: for the is it the Senior's Recognition Card? Is that
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: what it's called.
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: Yes, it's the Anti Senior's Recognition Scheme. You have to
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: be sixty five and over and I will just go
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: online and double check, yeah, that you have renewed your membership.
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: You have to renew it every year so they can
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: keep up with changes of addresses and different areas like that.
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: But yes, don't worry, you will be getting your card.
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: As I said, there's about fourteen thousand of them to
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: go out for the over sixty five and the businesses
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: have to remember as well. The one good thing is that, no,
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: they're very loyal customers here and I'll spend that money locally,
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: so absolutely money going to the community.
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: It really is well, Sue Shier. It is always great
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: to catch up with you. I really appreciate your time
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: this morning and we will talk again very soon.
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: Pleasure, Kadie, thank you you too,